Chapter 40: Aden:1, Elara:0

Kaelen brought a healing potion from his storage ring and took it down in one gulp. A dissatisfied sigh left his lips as he leaned against the broken walls and let its effects set in.

“That man is dangerous. If he’s even remotely similar to the one Elara is looking for, then I have to find a way to convince her to focus solely on the Purification Ceremony.”

His mumblings were interrupted by the rapid approach of Vane followed by part of the envoy.

“Master Kaelen! What happened here?” The man who questioned the kids earlier asked.

Vane didn’t say anything but his questioning gaze spoke volumes.

Kaelen clenched his fists behind his back and forced a neutral expression as he replied.

“I was following a lead to the anomaly but got attacked by some low realm cultivators instead.”

Everybody present there shot him looks of suspicion, Vane narrowed his eyes as he studied the environment.

’This isn’t what a battle between low level thieves should look like,’ he deduced.

His eyes traveled back to Kaelen who was covertly avoiding eye contact. “Are you keeping something from us?”

Kaelen’s heart skipped at his words. He knew his lie wasn’t exactly believable, but he didn’t expect to be directly questioned for it— especially not in the presence of those lower ranked by him.

“What do you mean by that, Vane?” He replied with a forced displeased expression. “For what reason do I have to lie?”

Vane scanned his micro–expression with terrifying accuracy, his hands gripped the handle of his sword before he bowed quickly.

“I apologize, Master Kaelen. I spoke out of turn.”

Kaelen was taken aback by the abrupt apology but he took it in stride.

His heart felt a little lighter as he was reminded of his noble position. ’That rat might have skills, but at the end of the day, he’s still a rat,’ he thought whilst forcing the horrible memories to the back of his mind.

“It’s no issue, Vane. I shall—”

“What is the meaning of this, Kaelen?” Elara interrupted.

The envoy parted ways and forced the citizens lingering around that area to vacate to the other side of town.

Vane bowed to Elara and made way for her.

Kaelen stuttered as Elara walked towards him. Her steps were calm, but faint cracks on the ground from her steps spoke louder than words ever could.

“Answer me, Kaelen. What is the meaning of this?”

She stood in close proximity of Kaelen, her eyes glowing with a purplish hue as she stared straight into his eyes.

“Everyone head back to the Town Square. Now!” Vane ordered.

The knights and beast tamers were momentarily confused, but they evacuated the site quickly.

Vane’s expression grew solemn as he watched Kaelen’s still figure. His expressions varied from Anger to Sadness to blank.

“I told father sending your foolish excuse for an existence on this mission would be a grave mistake and I have been proven right once again.”

Each word that left Elara’s mouth promised rage and destruction, but all of that intensity was directed at Kaelen’s face, her hypnotic voice resounding in his ears.

Elara studied the environment behind him. ’There’s no Void Energy here, In fact, there’s no energy at all. Did this fool’s opponent cause all this damage with sheer physical strength?’

Elara’s eyebrows furrowed, causing her focus to falter for a moment.

Kaelen gasped for breath immediately and leapt away from her. Elara glanced at his fearful look and turned away with disgust on her face.

“I don’t know which is more dissapointing— your stupidity or your weakness. Either way, you don’t lose out on either trait.”

Kaelen’s face flushed red. He tried to say something, but shut his mouth when he sensed the erratic energy around his wife.

“Because of your stupidity, we will have to postpone our search till tomorrow. Who knows if his trail might have gone cold by then?”

Kaelen clenched his teeth and waited for his wife to depart before he trailed behind Vane.

Vane turned his head backwards with a pitiful look.

Watching a full grown man trailing dejectedly behind him like a child who just got reprimanded, a thought automatically surfaced in his mind.

’If things keep going at this rate, the Redwyn family will inevitably be swallowed by the Royal family.’

Clenching the sword by his side, he jumped on his blue furred beast and watched Kaelen walk to the front of the envoy slowly.

’Then again, I won’t be too surprised if that was the plan of King Alavric all along.’

A signal was given and the envoy began their journey to a secluded piece of land where a newly constructed building laid.

Elara looked out the window with a discontented look. She had been tricked twice by this anomaly and was forced to divide her concentration to handle her man–child of a husband.

“Run all you want, I won’t give up until I know who or what you are,” she promised.

Two streets away, Aden pulled the Hannya mask off and shoved it into his storage ring. He was ducked inside a public laundry stall, surrounded by steaming vats of grey water.

His knuckles were split, and the Void energy in his veins was beginning to itch due to its suppression and its conscious disuse.

’I guess the both of you are selfish in your own ways,’ he realized.

’I need to sit down,’ Aden thought, leaning his forehead against a cold wooden pillar.

He closed his eyes and began evaluating his next line of action. He pulled out the ledger from his storage ring and opened to the parts circled in red.

’Need to take my mind off the bounty on my head, and what better way than placing bounties on others?’

The names of those who were obstructing the cure weren’t just random business men. Aden called them the Obstructors.

Yes, Aden was tired.

One name was circled in a deeper shade of red, likely by the bartender’s son: Baron Valerius.

’Valerius,’ Aden thought, his eyes narrowing. ’According to the ledger, he’s redirecting 40% of the shard-dust to his private estate under the guise of security protocol.’

Aden hummed. ’I guess I know where I’m going to sleep tonight. I sure hope he has good food.’

He took to his feet and sensed to make sure he wasn’t being watched. He took another look at the ledger and traced an address.

Aden’s expression turned thoughtful for a bit, before he nodded.

“I should go on a little detour and have a meeting with the Alchemist in charge of all this.”

He stretched as he walked down the empty streets. The moonlight casted its soft glow on Aden, highlighting his long silver hair and perfectly chiseled features.

A small smile tugged at the edges of his lips as he strode down the road.

“Better luck next time, Elara”

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